Chareidi

The Top 5 Things I had to cut from “The Force Isn’t With Me Anymore,” my new essay up on Tablet

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My new piece up on Tablet, “The Force Isn’t With Me Anymore,” is about how my lifelong love of Star Wars is clashing with my commitment not to go to the movies. Yes, it is true, this fangirl, the child formerly known in some circles as “Chewbecca,” will not be watching “The Force Awakens.”

O Death Star Play Set, how I miss thee!!

Writing the piece was loads of fun: I got to relive many happy minutes of my childhood. In the original draft, I described the scene when I received my beloved Death Star Play Set (from Kenner!) in loving detail, and included all sorts of wacky stuff that I had to cut for length before turning the article into Tablet. 

Editing out all that material was painful, and so I give you…

THE TOP 5 THINGS I HAD TO CUT FROM “THE FORCE ISN’T WITH ME ANYMORE:”

Continue reading →

Are you doing #Readukkah?

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This week has been declared #Readukkah by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL). In honor of the event, I’ve reviewed a new book, and will share other new book news below.

TUKY: THE STORY OF A HIDDEN CHILD by Shterni Rosenfeld (Hachai 2015)

Here’s my Goodreads review: Continue reading →

My most recent book review: Calling Out to You by Tehilla Edelman

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Last week, The Jewish Home L.A. published my book review of Tehilla Edelman’s new anthology about depression and anxiety disorders in the Orthodox world, Calling Out to You.

Here’s the review.

calling_out_to_you

Calling Out to You

Not only is the book an amazing resource for observant Jews with mental illness, but it’s also essential reading for their rabbis, principals, therapists, family, and friends. The format is innovative as it contains not only articles about treating depression, OCD, and the like, but also poems and narratives written by patients themselves. Highly recommended.

Signs you might want to buy one of my new books

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BOTH MY NEW BOOKS ARE UP AND RUNNING ON AMAZON! WAHOO!

(Do I sound excited?)

Mazal’s Luck Runs Out is for ages 8-11.

My life is being taken over by marketing (What? Did you say there’s a Jewish holiday coming? More than one? You mean I have to cook, too? ARGH!). Also, I’m working on no budget here, but at least people can actually buy both Mazal’s Luck Runs Out and Sliding Doors and other stories online now.

With no further ado… Continue reading →

A Tribute to My Favorite Uncles

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Looking for some Shabbos/weekend reading?

I’ve got a new story in this week’s Inyan Magazine, inside Hamodia (dated August 26, 2015). The story is called “The Favorite Uncle,” and it’s a sorta reversal of real-life situations between my kids and their beloved uncles, as well as a paean to my own awesome uncles, Ira and Larry.

Synopsis: 11 year-old Alex Silverstein’s favorite uncle frums out (becomes Orthodox), and Alex is not amused.

I’d love feedback from anyone who reads the story!

I also thought this would be a great opportunity to answer a question I’ve been getting a lot lately, included from professional (non-fiction) writers:

How do you write a short story?

Usually, the first step for me is Continue reading →

Tables turned: a writer gets interviewed by Fradl Adams for The Lakewood Shopper

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Fradl Adams interviews inspirational women, particularly baalos teshuvah, for The Lakewood Shopper. Her column appears weekly. Anyway, she asked to speak to me — focusing primarily on my writing for Jewish teens and tweens — about a month ago, and the interview runs this week. For those of us outside NJ, she provided this link.

I’m much more used to interviewing people than being interviewed. It was definitely WEEEIRD, and I kept thinking, “Do I sound like that?”